Process for the cooling of fruits and vegetables in refrigerator cars



Dec. 25, 1928.

C. W. MANN ET AL PROCESS FOR THE COOLING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLE 1'5 IN REFRIGERATOR CARS HIIIHI HHHH HII IIH lllll lll IIIIIHI IIIIIIII-HIIILH' llllllll u IHIHII IHLIHI \HHHI! llllilH IHHIH ilillHH HHIFU lHlllll AT T EIHNEYS Patented. Dec. 25, .1928

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OHARLEE W. MANN, OE LOS ANGELES,- CALIFORNIA, AND ALEXANDER GORDON I GALLO- WAY, OF WASHINGTON, .DJ ISTBICT OE COLUMBIA.

PROCESS FOR THE COOLING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IN REFRIGERATOR CARS.

Application filed m t, 1928. Serial No. 290,647.

(Gamma man an ACT or lumen arises, as mamas]: Ann. a0, 1928; '370 o. 6.457.

This application is made under the act approved April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if atented, may be manufactured and used y or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to us of any 'royaltythereon.

The natural air circulation in a refrigerator car with ice in the bunkers is into the top bunker opening down through the bunker and out-at the lower bunker openin into the body of the car. The circulation eing set up by cooling the air in passin through the ice, the cold air being denser and heavier than the warm air in the car body. The cold air then comes in-contact with the lower layers of the lading in the car with the result that the produce in this lower layer is cooled more rapidly than that in the upper layer and .with.

' ;the result that the warmer upper layers of produce sometimes deteriorate in shipments under ordinary standard refrigeration. The

process of cooling which we have devised;

comprises the reversal of the direction of the movement of the air in the car by means of electrically operatedblowers placed' in the bunkers of the refrigerator car so thatthe air passes in at the bottom bunker'opening up through and around .'theice and is forced out the -top bunker'op'ening on top of the load of produce.

Thedrawing consists ofone figure and shows a side sectional view of a ortion of a railroad car with the refrigerating apparatus installed.

Referring to the drawing it will be seen that A represents a blower or exhaust fan positioned in the ice bunker B, which is com-.

pletely filled with ice except for the space occupied by the blower. The portable fan 40 A rests on portable support H. In operation the blower forces the air out of the upper bunker opening 0 into the body of the car E, the opening C is covered with paper, canvas or some such material except for a small 1. space opposite the delivery opening of the- .blower so that recirculation of the air around in any space at the top of the bunker is prevented. The operation of the blower in'forc- .ice bunker.

cold air being heavier than the warm air tends to pass down through. 'the open crates or containers. until it reaches the space underneath-v.the floor i'acks from wherefit is drawn into'the lowerbunker opening of thec 'cooled rapidly and it is possible for example "to reduce the average temperature ofia carload of strawberries i or more per hour and cool it down from to a good Carrying temperature of 40 in about jsix' hours or 7 rless, the rate of cooling and" time being dependent on the type ofpbliiwers used.

It is design d to cool the cars of produce at the shippmg point immediately after loading-and before they are shipped. After (3001- ing the blowers are removed from the bunkers of the cars and the natural circulation of air as described in the first part of this specification is set up and the lower layer of produce inin the car thoroughly cooled in transit. Va- 30 rious types of blowers or fans may be used. We'have found a small type of centrifu al blower which delivers 400 or more cubic feet of air per minuteconv'enientand effective in this work. We do not wish to limit our claims to-a particular fan or blower as; any type that has sufiicient power to reverse the natural. circulation of the air and produce a curreht of "air up through the ice and force it out over The top of the load is thus 6a consists in initially causing air by forced cir-- culation to flow upwardly through the ice in the bunker, thus cooling the air, spreading said cold air over the top of the stacked prod- & ucts from whence it sinks down through the groducts, thereby cooling themand thence ack again to the bunker to be again circu eeann lated, continuing the circulation until the proper low temperature has been reached; then discontinuing the forced circulation and 10 then further cooling the productsby natural circulation of air in the reverse direction.-

' CHARLES W. MANN.

ALEXANDER GORDON GALLOWAY. 

